Digitec at Herofest: "Age of Empires 2" finale, tinkering, gaming and virtual realities

Domagoj Belancic

16.10.2023

Translation: machine translated

Pictures: Christian Walker

Herofest is over. We were able to experience exciting "Age of Empires 2" matches on the big stage. And enjoyed exciting activities with you at the Digitec stand.

At the weekend, the Bernexpo exhibition centre was all about gaming, cosplay and fantasy. The Herofest opened its doors for the sixth time. Digitec was there live.

As every year, there were plenty of first-class e-sports competitions to marvel at on the main stage. The final of the Digitec Playground Cup Vol. 11 with "Age of Empires 2" was played live in front of an audience. You can watch the whole replay here. The Grümpi tournament starts at minute 18 and the Pro tournament starts at minute 59.

The grand final was hosted by the energetic "Age of Empires" duo Ellie4k and Dave. They have already skilfully led through the matches in the two qualifiers.

Short process in the Grümpi tournament

In the Grümpi tournament, "Celior" (rating: 1130) and "Frozen - Hot Pepper Pizza" (rating: 1159) faced each other. No, I didn't make a typo - that really is his gamertag. Only one match was played. The opponents were visibly nervous before the match. It was the first time on a big stage for both of them.

The Grümpi final was held on the map Arabia. Celior opted for the Incas and Frozen for the Tatars. The game didn't last long. After around 15 minutes, Frozen were able to decide the match in their favour.

With trembling hands and visibly relieved, Frozen thanked his opponent for the "nerve-wracking" match. He had never played "Age of Empires" as well as he did at this tournament. Fun side note: Without Celior, Frozen would not have reached the final of the Digitec Playground Cup. Celior drew Frozen's attention to the tournament in the first place and invited him to the Digitec Discord server. He's practically responsible for his own defeat in the final. Irony of fate.

Top-level duels at the Pro Final

"Feige" and "TRM" faced each other in the pro final:

• Feige (Rating: 2103 - global rank: 230 - favourite civ: Sicilian - favourite map: Coastal Forest)
• TRM (Rating: 2240 - global rank: 124 - favourite civ: Huns - favourite map: Arabia)

In contrast to the Grümpi final, this match was played in "best of three" mode. It was also the first time on such a big stage for the two pros. TRM is regarded as one of the best "Age of Empires" players in Switzerland and was therefore the favourite going into the final matches. Underdog Feige was not impressed by this and predicted a 2:0 win in his pre-match interview. Unfortunately, his plan didn't quite work out. Here is an overview of the results:

• Match 1
  • Map: Arabia - Fig: Incas - TRM (👑): Tatars
• Match 2
  • Map: Nomad - Fig: Vietnamese - TRM (👑): Magyars

In the interview after the game, TRM expressed his surprise at how much of a difference it makes to play on stage. He said he struggled to adjust to the new setup and the unfamiliar situation. The matches were long and hard-fought, but in the end it was enough for the favourite.

Gaming and tinkering at the Digitec stand

The Digitec stand was located next to the main stage. There, visitors could take part in numerous activities and win great prizes. Here you can see some impressions of our stand

Gaming until the doctor comes

At the console station, you could either play for free or challenge the Digitec editorial team. Those who managed to take first place in a "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" cup or in "EA Sports FC 24" with more than three goals against us had the chance to win Digitec vouchers.

Some visitors have visited the gaming station again and again and challenged me and my colleagues anew. Thank you for the intense races and close football matches. It was great fun.

Right next to the gaming station was the arcade corner. There was one "Pac Man" and "Mortal Kombat" machines. Many visitors travelled back in time on these machines. The duels on the machines were just as heated as the duels at the console station.

You could also win the arcade machines. All you had to do was guess how many Lego bricks were in this empty PC case:

Apropos Lego: At the stand, visitors could also assemble various Mario Lego sets. Those who took part also had the chance to win Digitec vouchers. Some visitors stayed at the table for hours, putting together various sets. One particularly motivated team of Lego fans completed the question mark block from "Super Mario 64" in record time. They were given the entire set as a spontaneous gift. So much effort should be rewarded.

Once again this year, our stand was visited by many cosplay artists.

Those who had had enough of the crowds could immerse themselves in virtual reality at our stand. With the Quest 3, visitors were able to try out the latest VR and mixed reality headset from Meta.

If you don't want to miss anything from Digitec Playground, click on Follow author below. This will keep you up to date. You can also reach us on the Digitec Discord server. There you can also express your wishes for new games in the Digitec Playground Cup.

We are already looking forward to next year. You can find impressions of last year's Herofest here:

Domagoj Belancic

Senior Editor

Domagoj.Belancic@digitecgalaxus.ch

My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.

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